500
Common Words: Long Vowels

Long
vowels are actually "long" in American English. These
sounds
should take slightly longer to speak than
the short vowels (with the exception of the short A sound which is also
spoken fully). Remember,
American English has strong vowel sounds. You want to be comfortable
with these sounds and give them enough time. You may need to practice
moving your lips or jaw more in order to make clear sounds.

There is one
more sound not on the
list because there are not many common words:
oi / oy (sounds
like ōee). Examples: point, voice, boy, toy.

Two
Major Rules*
Silent E at
the end makes the vowel sound long. Compare "sit" and "site" or "rat"
and "rate."
* When there are two vowels next to each other, the first is a long
sound and the second is silent (except the double vowel sound in oi, oy
and sometimes ou, ow.) There are exceptions, see connecting
vowels,
but this rule works well
in general.
Practice distinguishing Long A and Short E sounds.
Learn the vowel sounds with videos, visuals and spelling rules: 750
Business Words online pronunciation class for intermediate -
advanced speakers.